Why Were You Born
by WybourneObsessed
Summary: Wyborne Jeremiah Lovat would rather eat mud than move to Michigan all the way from Oregon. The neighbors are crazy, the owner's daughter is abusive, and there's this strange door in the drawing room that's all bricked up...
1. Pontiac

**A/N: Oh... oh my gosh. I couldn't resist this. I just couldn't. Yes, this is one of those Wybie-goes-into-the-Other-World stories, but what it's not is him knowing Coraline at all. That's right, folks. The movie's titled Coraline, but now it's going to be called Wyborne. **

**.Chapter One: Pontiac.**

A half-rusted with age black beetle drove along the chipped pavement of the highway. Rain splattered against the windows only to be wiped away by the vehicle's wipers. A green sign settled on the side of the road announced, "Welcome to Pontiac, Michigan!" The small boy in the car sighed in misery while his grandmother sighed in relief.

"Finally," she murmured, curving onto a small backroad from the highway, leaving them alone with nothing but the rain for company.

"Mm." the boy grunted, curls bouncing with the movement. He put his chin on his fist and stared out into the fog that was now settling in with the rain. His olive eyes drooped, unimpressed by the scenery.

"Come now, Wyborne," his grandmother scolded, taking another turn into town. The buildings were every shade of gray, minus a small ice cream shop, which was every shade of a bright neon sunset. "Sit up and stop sulking."

"Wybie, Gramma. Wy. Bie." said he, obeying his grandmother and sitting up a bit straighter. "I'm never going by Wyborne."

"Nonsense. It's you're name, and you should be proud of it."

"H-how can you be proud of something when it asks why you were born?" Wybie countered, giving his reflection in the mirror in front a raised eyebrow. He was a professional eyebrow raiser.

"It doesn't ask why you were born, honey. It's just pronounced that way."

As if. He huffed with icy laughter as they pulled onto a winding, rocky road that splayed pebbles every which way. Farther up was their new home. The green-eyed boy winced at how run-down and peeled it appeared to be. A faded mix between what used to be a bright purple and orange, the paint seemed to ooze downwards over time, leaving behind the mix of very a gooey-looking paintjob. "Who would paint a house purple?" he inquired, leaning over the seat to get a better look, watching the moving van approach. It was supposed to be called the _Pink _Palace.

"Obviously the owners." his grandmother said, pulling up next to the van. Wybie made sure his jacket was zipped and his jeans were rolled up, and stepped outside into the murky mess that the rain had caused. It seemed more like tiny pellets of ice, now. He wrapped his arms around himself, teeth chattering slightly and breath forming small clouds in the air.

"I-I'm going in, Gramma." he muttered, making a break for it. She rolled her eyes and pulled out her checkbook to give the movers a tip.

Slamming the door behind him and shaking the ice out of his curls, Wybie looked in dismay at his new home. Wallpaper that was once white had turned an ugly shade of tan and peeled from the wall like woodshavings. The wood on the cabinets needed a polish, and the floor tiles were no longer white either.

He had some serious work to do.

Sighing for the second time that day, Wybourne kicked off his green shoes and walked into the living room, nearly slipping on the floor due to his socks. An idea rolled its way into his head and he gave a small grin, rushing forward and putting his arms out in front of him as he glided gently across almost half of the floor.

"To do list: polish every floor in the house." he said to himself, stretching and shuffling off his jacket, hanging it on the closest hanger nearby. Wybie plopped down onto the couch, taking comfort in the fact that it was the same one from their old home.

The living room seemed to be the only place that was actually _clean;_ the hardwood floor gleamed a bright brown color, the couch smelled fresh, and the TV was all hooked up and just begged for him to turn it on. He did, and wrapping his arms around the back of his head, began to watch whatever was on.

**.x.X.x.**

Wybie wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for. He wasn't aware he had fallen asleep, either. But he definitely wasn't ready to wake up. It'd been to long of a drive, and everyone knows how hard it is to sleep on a car going sixty on the freeway.

"Hey." Oh, no. No way he was waking up. Too early.

"Hey you!" Five more minutes...

"Wake up!" He felt himself being shaken and opened his eyes reluctantly. Bringing on arm over them to wipe away the grogginess, he saw who the culprit of his rude awakening was.

A small, pale girl with blue hair and a yellow raincoat stood over him, foot tapping against the floor and arms crossed in annoyance. She had dark hazel eyes and thin eyebrows, with a few freckles splattered across her face. She did not look happy.

"W-who are you?" Wybie asked, sitting up and tilting his head at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Coraline. Coraline Jones."

"C-Caro-?"

"_Not. _Caroline." she hissed, eyes burning with anger. What had snuck into her pants?

"Uh huh." he mumbled absently, standing up and fetching his coat. "Why are you here? You know, it's called breaking and entering. I think you can spend up to three years in jail for that. Well. Juvenile for you, since you're under age, but still..." He heard her groan, and smirked a little. If his successive talking didn't drive her out, then nothing would.

"You tell me you're name first." she said, following him as he wandered into the kitchen for a snack. Everything was set up and moved in, so he must have been asleep for a while. At least his grandmother had allowed him to rest.

"My name?" Snatching an apple from the basket on the counter, he bit into it as she stared. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet." he drawled, quoting one of the cheesiest novels he's ever read. The girl looked at him like he was some kind of zoo animal.

"Uh. Wow. You are a creep."

"I try." he said, biting into the apple again. Coraline shook her hea,d blue hair doing the same.

"No, really. What's your name?"

"Wybie Lovat."

"...Wybie? As in, why be?"

"That's just how it's pronounced. It actually means 'Daring Man of Awesomness.'"

"Right. Is it... short for something?"

"Mhm. Wyborne."

She stared. He stared back coolly, rolling the apple in his hands.

"Wyborne. Why born. _Why. Born._" she emphasized, gesturing with her hand to the boy. His mouth melted into a smug grin.

"Yup."

"You don't care at all about that? Not at all? Not that your name asks why you were born?"

"Once again, what's in a name, that which we call a rose..."

"Stop. Just... stop." she held up both of her hands, as if she'd die if she heard one more repeat of that quote. "I think I should go. I was just going to welcome you to the crappy town of Pontiac, but obviously you're insane." she made a beeline for the door, which he promptly opened for her and bowed mockingly.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow." He was doing it again. Coraline "Ughhhh"ed in frustration before strutting out the door, which he watched her do with a grin. Slamming the door behind him, his grin fell and he frowned. The blue hair just screamed "Attention Seeker." Rolling his eyes, Wybie dropped the half-eaten apple into the trash can and hopped up the stairs to take a glance at his new room.

Wincing every time the steps in his home squawked when he tentatively pressed his foot against it, he finally made it. Pushing the door open, Wybie was greeted by a dust-covered, paint-chipped, piece of crap.

"...Wow."

Boxes scattered across the room made it difficult, but he managed to wade his way through them to his bed, which had an odd lump under it. Funny, why would there be a lump...? Unless it was a spider.

"Hm." he hummed, peeking inside the boxes until he found what he was looking for – and encyclopedia on slugs. Holding it up protectively, he crept back over to his bed, threw the covers up over the lump –

Only to be greeted by a sleeping, black, dirty furball of a cat.

"Heeey!" he scowled, watching the animal open one blue eye. It looked at him, and then proceeded to curl back up on his bed.

"Get up!" Wybie said, making a move to attempt to move the feline himself. The cat blinked its eyes open, stretched, and then rubbed against his outstretched hand, purring in content. Wybie's eyebrows rose in surprise. "H-hi, there."

"Meow."

"Meow to you too." he chuckled as it continued to head-butt his hand. Sitting down on the bed, he set the cat onto his lap and stroked its slightly-ratty fur. "You need a bath, boy."

He could have sworn the thing smirked at him. Flicking its tail, it mewed.

"Ohh! I see. You're a wild cat." he grinned as it licked his finger. This was the start of a beautiful friendship. "I think you're hungry."

A mewling sound emitted from its throat as it seemed to nod. Wybie made a move to pick the cat up, but it leaped from his arms and sprinted out the door. He blinked, then sighed, flopping back on his bed. Whatever. Five more minutes of a nap couldn't hurt...


	2. Exploration

**A/N: Hello, Coraline lovers. I'm back~ And this time, I'll reply to all of your wonderful reviews.**

**CoraRoz- Thank you! It's good to be back. :3 And I know, he's the sexiest!**

**I'm thinking about changing my username, so if you come across this story and fine it authored by someone named "Silver Sunset" or "Explorationist," don't be alarmed. It's just little old me! **

**.Chapter Two: Exploration.**

The next day was what he liked to call "Exploration Day." It consisted of him wandering everywhere within a one-mile radius of his new home and jotting anything interesting down in a special little notebook he had. Currently, he was cautiously making his way through the snow-covered grounds of his new home. Inside was way too stuffy and muggy, and out here was much cooler. Probably because there was snow on the ground.

Crunching through the frozen wonderland of the woods, he idly marked what trees were the most populated, how many squirrels scurried off from the trees... It was February, so the animals should be waking up soon.

A rustling noise came from the bushes nearby, so the boy dusted off a branch from the ground and help it out threateningly. "Hello? Come out!"

And as if on command, a blue-eyed feline pounced out and rushed past him, down a trail where a bunch of apple trees were blooming. Wybie dropped the stick.

"Huh. Okay..."

After looking both ways as if someone was watching him, he jogged after the cat, boots making noticeable tracks in the snow. The cat came into view a little while later when he found that he had actually went uphill, and was now beaming down at his home from afar. It looked a lot better from his perspective.

"Mrrow."

Raising an eyebrow and turning, he faced the cat again, and watched as it licked its paw on an old tree stump. Bringing out his handy dandy notebook, he shooed the animal off and counted how many rings the stump possessed. He came up with eighty, but when recounting, eighty-three. Meh. He scribbled down "80/83/82 1/2".

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Gahh!" he yelped, throwing the notepad into the air along with the pen and falling flat on his hands in the snow. A blue-haired Coraline glared at him, catching both the notebook and the pen before it managed to hit the ground.

She began rummaging through his notes.

"Boring, boring, boring... You're boring. _This _is boring. What's it about? Nature?" she scoffed, tossing it to him. He fumbled but managed to get a grip on it, glaring right back at her. He didn't like her one bit.

"What's it look like I'm doing, first of all? Second, it's not my fault you can't read." Stuffing the items inside his jacket, his hands went in as well, casually staring at Coraline. She ushered him back a bit.

"Whoa, whoa. Do you want to fall in?" _Oh, yeah, ignore my other comebacks. _

"F-fall in? Where?" he asked, stepping back far from where she was staring in slight panic. Looking around, the girl shifted a fairly large branch and used it as a lever to prop open some circular disk leading into a big, moss-covered, stone well.

After giving him a three-second glimpse she glanced down, then slammed the lid shut again, hoisting the branch away. Wybie blinked.

"Wha?"

"You need to stay away from here. Seriously. Just... don't come alone. Bad things have happened." she warned him. Her eyes were completely serious, poker-face intact. Wybie chuckled bitterly.

"I laugh in the face of danger, doll."

He received a swift kick in the shin for his comment. While he rolled on the cold, unforgiving snow in pain, Coraline knelt beside him, smirking.

"Unless you want to fall in and die, I suggest staying away. Do you know how deep this thing is? And how old?" She motioned to the brown piece of old crap covering the well. "Older than you, your grandmother, and your great, great, great, great, grandmother. Combined."

"Oooh, scary." the boy retorted, picking himself up and dusting off the powder from his sleeves.

"I mean it, Wyborne. You don't want to see what could come out of this well." Coraline's eyes flitted towards it, and he saw a small flash of fear trickle over her features. When he blinked, it was gone.

"Okay, okay. Whatever. I'll stay away." He turned around and began walking upwards, farther into the woods. Boots crunched after him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Places." Wybie didn't glance back, but stopped momentarily to pick up some snow and play with it while he walked. She was cautious, and smart enough to keep out of firing range.

"Yeah, right. You're such a creep."

"Mm." He hoped the farther he walked, the less she would follow. _Go away, go away, go away._

And yet, she wouldn't go away. Wybie nearly groaned.

"Look. Can you not follow me?" He turned around to watch the girl put her hands on her hips.

"Fine. Just trying to keep you out of trouble."

"I can keep out of trouble just fine, thanks."

Sticking her tongue out, the blue-haired girl turned on her heel, only to slip and land on her behind in the snow. Wybie chuckled, holding out a hand to help her up. Glaring at him, she grabbed his hand tightly, and before he knew it he was face-first in the cold. By the time he managed to dig himself out, she was gone.

Good riddance.

**x.X.x**

That night, he was laying on the couch, two empty mugs of what was once hot chocolate sitting on the table beside him. Wybie yawned and stretched, glancing at the clock. Mrs. Lovat was out grocery shopping or something. It was almost eight, though. He was a bit too tired to worry. There was some kind of movie on about cakes and baking, but that hot chocolate had filled him up too much to make him hungry.

He was lightly dozing when he heard a mouse. Wybie opened his eyes and looked around, propping himself up on an elbow. Seeing nothing, he bounced back down on the cushions and rolled over, dismissing it as a dream.

The old grandfather clock woke him up the second time, groaning out twelve dongs loud enough to wake him up again. He found himself draped in a blanket and had a pillow under his head. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, preparing to trudge up to his room and sleep when something scurried out from under the couch and across the floor. He rubbed his eyes once again in, thinking that he was just sleepy.

Wybie stood and crept over to the mattress that the small rodent had ran under. He grunted and pushed it to the side, and stared at what it revealed.

A small door carved into the wallpaper.

Surprised, the boy reached out and lightly ran his hand over the edges of the door. They looked like someone had cut the square and had forgotten to remove it from the wall. Disoriented and confused, he peeked in through the keyhole, which had certainly had a key shoved through the overlaying wallpaper. It was just black.

Sighing and planning on finding the key tomorrow, he grabbed his blanket and pillow and went upstairs to sleep.

**X.x.X**

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness! I've had issues with my computer. As in, the battery dying, my charger breaking, and writer's block.**


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